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er and serjeant at his pillar heard his client's cause and took notes thereof upon his knee, as they do at Guildhall at this day." He adds: "After the Serjeants' feast ended they do still go to Paul's in their habits, and there choose their pillar whereat to hear their client's cause (if any come) in memory of that old custom." Naturally, the Order of the Coif was jealous of its distinctions and privileges; and the following incident, for which we are indebted to the late Mr. Serjeant Ballantine, will serve to illustrate the point. "I have now," he says, "taken my readers back to my old inn. I will venture to surround it with all the halo to which it is entitled. We were, and had from time immemorial been, connected with the Corporation of the City of London, and inasmuch as the greatest compliment appreciated by that august body was annually paid to us, we were doubtless once upon a time of no small importance ourselves. We received an invitation to dine at the Lord Mayor's on November 9, and arrayed in robes that gave us as much claim to notice as men in armour, and, preceded by a personage known as the City Marshal, we were assigned seats amongst the principal guests at that great festival, and it was really a sight worthy of notice.... "Upon this occasion it was the office of one of the high officers of the Corporation, no less a dignitary than the Common Serjeant[8], personally to convey to us the invitation on the first day of Michaelmas term at our inn. Sir Thomas Chambers, when he occupied this office, was accustomed to commit a most amusing blunder. Whether moved by some idea of his own dignity, or acting under civic instruction, I am unable to say, but when he came to perform his task he addressed himself solely to the Judges, not even naming the Serjeants, although the former were asked only in that capacity, and were included with the Lord Chancellor and the Equity Judges specially in their official capacity, and invited by the Lord Mayor himself personally. The Common Serjeant was not, probably, aware that, whilst it in no respect derogated from his dignity to convey a message from one great corporation to another, he was performing the duty of a butler in conveying an invitation to individuals belonging to it. There was a worthy member of our body, Mr. Serjeant Woolrych, who had written a most exhaustive book upon the sewers, and was very learned about City customs, and who exercised his mind greatly
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